In Acts 20, we become witnesses to what must have been one of the hardest conversations the Apostle Paul ever had. Before making his way to Jerusalem, Paul finds himself in Miletus, and sends for the elders from Ephesus to come to him. He has one more address for them. And he knows that this will be the last time that he ever sees them.
What might we say in such a moment?
Maybe you’ve experienced a similar scenario. Think about a place that you have invested your heart and soul into, a people you have tearfully prayed for. Think about your final opportunity to speak with them. These will forever be your parting words. Certainly, you want them to count.
Perhaps it would do us some good to think about arriving at our own “Miletus” someday. What will we want to be able to say when we get there, to the people we have served and have loved, in our last moments together? What do we hope that looks like?
Here are a few of the prevailing themes of Paul’s parting words to some of his favorite elder brothers:
“Remember My Example.”
Ephesus was a place near and dear to Paul’s heart. “For three years,” he reflects, “I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears” (20:31). He saw men baptized in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit working in believers (19:5-6). He saw all of Asia, Jew and Gentile, hear the word of the Lord during his ministry there (19:10).
When Paul had the chance to address these elders a final time, he did not resort to platitudes or empty talk, but he called the Ephesians first and foremost to remember. He invites his friends from the very beginning to look back: “You yourselves know how I lived” (20:18). The old adage rings true: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The Ephesian elders didn’t come to Paul at Miletus merely to learn from the Expert of All Ministry Experts. They came because they knew he loved them. They saw it with their own eyes.
“Have Courage.”
Courage is one of the most instructive (and perhaps overlooked?) components of the Apostle Paul’s ministry. From his moment of conversion, it was a Christian life thoroughly built on a steady resolve in the gospel, a tenacious commitment to the Holy Spirit’s leading. The challenge of ministry in Ephesus was no deterrent for Paul, as he faithfully, boldly did what the Lord sent him to do. “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable…I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (20:20, 27).
Further, he does not dance around what awaits him:
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (20:22-24).
Paul does here what he’s always done: he takes the path of courage, come what may, to inspire those around him to do the same.
“Guard Yourselves and Your People.”
Some of Paul’s most explicit instruction at Miletus comes in the form of warning and exhorting the Ephesian elders to guard themselves and their flock. It is a warning that rings prevalent long after Paul was gone (20:29-30), not only in Ephesus, but even in the churches that meet today.
Effective spiritual leadership demands self-inspection. In the words of Richard Baxter, “We must study just as hard how to live well as how to preach well. We must think and think again how to compose our life as well as our sermons so that both may encourage men’s salvation in the best way that they can.” Not only to the elders need to take heed unto themselves, but to the outside deceptions that can threaten the church’s gospel doctrine and culture. Protecting the flock, who is prone to wander, is a vital aspect of the shepherd’s work.
“I commend you to God.”
The final comfort for Paul, in departing from his company of friends, is that he can entirely trust these men into the hands of God Himself. In Paul’s eventual death, and in his absence, these men can remain faithful, diligent, watchful, and courageous. Because Paul did not train them to depend on himself. Paul was merely an imperfect and temporal steward of the Lord’s work.
If we find ourselves in a position of spiritual leadership, let us give Paul’s parting words the consideration and weight that they deserve. We strive in all things to exemplify the things we teach and say. We choose courage, come what may. We model a commitment to godliness, and faithfulness to the gospel. And we entrust every ounce of it to the Lord’s care.